


I was Real Because That is What You Wanted Me To Be

by Alis_Wonderland



Series: The Secret [4]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Derek Comes Back, Gen, He's an imaginary friend, Open to Interpretation, Season 5 Spoilers, Season/Series 05, Stiles isn't real, but he becomes real, if you want you can see this as a Sterek fic, just a few ones, open ended Sterek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-26
Updated: 2015-11-26
Packaged: 2018-05-03 13:28:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5292815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alis_Wonderland/pseuds/Alis_Wonderland
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Stiles wasn't a real person? What if he was just an imaginary friend Scott created when he was young? What if Scott believed so much that one day, Stiles did become real?<br/>How would everyone react if they found out this secret about their supposed "trophy human"?<br/>Warning: You need to have seen season 5A if you don't want spoilers (or unless you don't mind spoilers)</p>
            </blockquote>





	I was Real Because That is What You Wanted Me To Be

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Thanksgiving, you guys!!! Hope you don't suffer too much from food comas :)  
> This is really just a random thought that came to my mind after reading several fics where the pack ignores Stiles so much that it's almost as if he doesn't exist to them. 
> 
> If anyone wants to use this idea, they are more than welcome to use it and I would love to read it if they do. Some credit would be appreciated if used though. :)

Scott had been so accustomed to always having Stiles by his side that he never really thought his best friend would ever leave him. He had known Stiles most of his life that it had been engraved in his brain that his best friend was very real and very human.   
But what if that wasn't so?

What if Stiles was just someone created by a little boy's wish to have a friend always by his side after finding out his parents were getting a divorce.  
Stiles was imaginary, but because Scott believed in him so much, he became real to everyone around him.  
His personality was based on whatever kind of friend Scott had needed at the moment he thought up his best friend.

-Someone that was loyal no matter what. (Scott didn’t want another person to abandon him like his dad had.)  
-Someone with a lot of energy so they could play for hours (adults got tired too fast)  
-Someone who was goofy (Scott needed more happiness in his life)  
-Someone to make Mr. Stilinski happy again after the death of his wife (Scott hated that his neighbor didn’t smile anymore)  
-Someone who was very clever (so he could up with reasonable lies to get Scott out of trouble)  
-Someone who wasn’t easily scared (so he could protect Scott from all the monsters in the world)  
-Someone who was human (because as much as Scott liked superheroes, he was afraid of people who could potentially hurt him)  
-Someone who would grow up him as if they were brothers

Scott had made a mental list of all the traits he wished his friend could have and after much believing, wanting, needing, and begging, Stiles came to exist.   
And to a young boy, Stiles was perfect. They could have so many adventures together, and he never complained about it being late like adults did.   
Every time Stiles came up with a very stupid lie, he would feel ashamed, but then he remembered he was created by a seven year old boy, so the quality of his lying skills could be excused.  
As the years went by, Scott forgot all about Stiles being imaginary at one point and believed with all his heart that he had met Stiles while Scott’s mom was working at the hospital and Stiles was visiting his sick mom.

Mr. Stilinski also came to believe that Stiles was really his son because the power of a child’s belief was very strong.   
Even Stiles came to believe he was real, as time went by he had all but forgotten about being imaginary. To himself and the rest of the world, he was just a skinny pale human boy.

It wasn’t until Scott got bitten by a werewolf that Stiles remembered that he himself was technically part of the supernatural world. It wasn’t one of his best moves to tell Scott to help him search for a dead body that night, but when Scott was young, he had found that type of stuff interesting. Stiles was just trying to please his friend the only he could. It wasn’t his fault that his personality was childish, he had been created by a child. That night he realized that he would never really be able to grow up. Sure his body aged alongside Scott’s, but at the end of the day he was still just a child’s creation. 

He realized one day Scott would outgrow him and abandon him. He hated the feeling, but what was he supposed to do? He always got himself to forget these thoughts by telling himself that he should be grateful. If it wasn’t for Scott, he wouldn’t even exist. He kept this mind and dedicated himself to please Scott any way he could as a way of thanking him for creating Stiles.

And then the thing with the Nogitsune happened. Stiles felt so pathetic and useless. He had felt this way constantly since his best friend turned into a werewolf, but not to this extent. Not only did the others have to save him, but he had hurt Scott, his creator. He had not only stabbed Scott with a sword, but also was the cause for Allison’s death. Stiles felt like letting everything go from that moment. He wanted to fade away to nothing. He had caused so much pain to the pack, why should he even stay anymore?

It’s not like Scott needed him anymore. Scott was now a True Alpha, and Stiles couldn’t have been prouder. But that also meant he wasn’t really needed. Scott no longer needed someone to protect him, he had a whole pack by his side. The only thing Stiles was useful for now, was being a weak human Scott could protect. It helped build Scott’s confidence and made him feel strong, but it had the opposite effect on his best friend. Stiles believed he should have left then and there after realizing Scott would be fine without him, but he had truly started believing he was human and with that came a human trait, selfishness. 

He stayed, always coming up with stupid reasons for why he was still needed, but he was basically running on fumes. Stiles knew he wouldn’t last much more. He promised himself he would just stay until his boy graduated high school and then he would let himself fade away. 

But then the Dread Doctors and Theo came and ruined his plans. Donavan’s death traumatized him, thinking knowing Scott would no longer want him. Stiles was hanging on by a thin thread. And as if things couldn’t be bad, Theo told Scott about Donavan. It hurt Stiles so much when his best friend/creator kicked him out of the pack. He might of being able to continue to exist without the pack, he would be miserable but he would be able to carry on…But without Scott…without his creator, he was nothing. As soon as Scott told him to leave, Stiles felt himself start to fade away.  
It wasn’t even happening fast enough though, no it had to be slow so Stiles could see what he was going to leave behind. It was painful, and his plan for staying one more year was instantly reduced to a mere couple of days.

Stiles felt so alone, it hurt. He didn’t know what to do with himself, so he just let himself waste away.

On his last day, Stiles decided it was best if he said goodbye to Scott in person. He didn’t want his friend to worry about why he disappeared off the face of the earth, never to be seen again. Stiles wasn’t sure if Scott would even care what happened to Stiles at this point, but Stiles wanted closure. He didn’t want things to end as they did that night Scott told him to leave, so Stiles ended going to the place the pack usually held their meetings.

He couldn’t say that he wasn’t surprised to see that Derek was back in town and was taking part in the meeting, but that wasn’t his priority, so he pushed the surprise aside.  
As soon as he walked into the room, all eyes turned to him. Scott glared at him and was about to yell at him to leave, but Stiles interrupted.

“Relax Scott, I didn’t come here to cause trouble or anything. I know when I’m not needed or wanted,” he began to say in a defeated tone. “But that’s actually why I had to come and say this to your face.”

He had been looking at the ground while he said this because he couldn’t bear to look at his friend glare daggers at him, but upon saying the next words, he made sure to look directly into Scott’s eyes. 

“Goodbye Scott.”

At that, Scott snapped out of his glare and his expression was replaced by one of confusion.

Lydia was the one who voiced everyone’s thoughts. “What?! You’re leaving? I get that the pack is falling apart and I get that Scott and you aren’t in the best of terms right now, but you don’t have to go. I for one don’t believe what Theo said about you is true.”

“So do I,” Derek grumbled in agreement. “Scott’s just being an idiot.”

Scott grumbled to himself as the group sided against him, but he kept it to himself. He was taken out of his musings when Stiles surprising took his side. He turned his head so fast that he would have gotten whiplash if he hadn’t been a werewolf.

“Guys, don’t blame it all on Scott. He was just trying to do what he thought was best for the pack,” Scott heard Stiles say.

He couldn’t believe it. Even after kicking him out of the pack, Stiles was still defending him.

Before anyone could say anything else, Stiles continued to talk.

“Anyway, as I was saying before, I’m not here looking for a fight. I came to say goodbye and tell you guys not to worry about never seeing me again. You guys don’t need me so you shouldn’t even notice my absence.”

Stiles had wanted to say something funny at that moment. One last dog joke. A stupid pun. Something. Anything to ease the mood…but he couldn’t. Instead, he burst into tears.  
Instantly noticing that he had started crying, Stiles sobbed a quick “I’m sorry” and started to run towards the door. 

What he hadn’t noticed, was that for a few seconds he had turned a bit translucent. It happened so fast that the pack wasn’t even sure if they had seen correctly. To them it had looked like one of those scenes in a ghost movie where someone in the group hadn’t been as alive as they had thought.

They just all stood with wide eyes in shock as they tried to figure out what had just happened.

Derek was the one to run towards the fleeing teen and decided to stop him by pinning him to the nearest wall. It worked at first, but without warning, Derek’s hands suddenly went through Stiles’s body.  
Stiles noticed what just happened and agave a half-hearted laugh.

“I guess we won’t be able to do the whole Push-Stiles-Against-a-Wall thing anymore, huh Sourwolf?” he sadly chuckled as he looked up to meet Derek’s eyes before walking through Derek and looking over to the other people in the room.

Something about seeing Stiles like this, made something in Scott’s mind snap back into place. It made him remember a time when he was all alone and with no Stiles. His head was spinning as his mind supplied him with all the memories that seemed to have been suppressed all this time.

“I created you, didn’t I?” Scott finally got his mouth to say, his voice a bit hoarse. 

Everyone stared at the True Alpha with confusion, but Stiles was the only one who didn’t.

“Yeah Scott, you created me,” Stiles answered, confusing everyone farther. “I was a simple figment of a lonely boy’s imagination, but you made me so much more.”

Stiles continued to explain that he really was an imaginary friend and not the trophy human everyone had believed him to be. He explained that he had never been real, but because of Scott’s strong belief, he became real to not only Scott, but everyone else. The whole pack just listened in silence, trying to process everything. All the while, Stiles kept flickering like a dying flame.

“Scott, I became real because that is what you needed me to be. Then I stayed real because that is what you wanted me to be.” Stiles said with a sad smile. “Now, you neither need me nor want me, so I must go.”

“But I do need you, I was just too stupid to show it. I’m sorry I pushed you away…Please, don’t go”, Scott started to sob, knowing Stiles was fading away at a faster rate now.

“You’re a high school senior now. You’ll head out into the world soon. You don’t need a stupid imaginary friend. Besides, it doesn’t matter now, I’m already fading away…So, um like I said earlier…Goodbye. Don’t worry, maybe I’ll end up in some sort of Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends type of place.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, idiot”, Derek said suddenly, as he tried to grab Stiles by the shoulder.

Surprisingly, his hand didn’t go through the pale teen this time. Instead, it was firmly on Stiles’s shoulder.

“H-how…did you…do that?” Stiles asked in clear shock.

Derek gave him the most genuine smile he had ever given the teen and said, “Children aren’t the only ones who can have a strong belief. Besides, once you believe in werewolves, kitsunes, werecoyotes, etc., it’s not so hard to start believing in other things.”

Realizing what Derek was getting at, the rest of the pack started to mentally picture Stiles being tangible, very human, and very real. And to their happy surprise, it was working. Right before their eyes, Stiles started looking less translucent and more solid.

They all rushed to tackle Stiles into a huge hug the instant he did, causing Stiles to be in a deeper state of shock.

“Don’t you dare leave us, you idiot.” Derek grumbled, still holding on to the teen as if the moment he let go, Stiles would disappear. “You’re the glue that keeps this pack together. We’d be lost without you, so don’t you dare leave.”

“But…but, I thought you guys didn’t like me”, Stiles quietly sobbed. “I was just a stupid weak human…And then with what Theo said about me, you guys hated me.”

Stiles’s body flickered a bit when saying that last part. Noticing the flicker, the pack was quick to comfort him.

“I’m sorry for the way I reacted,” Scott whispered. “An Alpha should listen to all sides of a story before coming to conclusions. I will try anything and everything to make it up to you.”  
“It’s okay, Scotty. You’re young, you’re still learning…But are you sure you still want me?”

Scott whimpered at Stiles’s comment. Somehow he felt that for at a while, they would have to be walking around egg shells with Stiles to get him to realize they really did want him around.  
“Dude, you’re my brother. Of course I do want you around”, Scott softly chuckled as he pulled his best friend into a hug.

Stiles returned his hug with a smile. He was no longer just an imaginary friend, he was real, and he would stay this way as long as the people he loved wanted him to be.

 

And that is the story of how Stiles not only became a real boy, but also became the person that kept a pack of werewolves, banshees, werecoyotes, etc. in check. He was their glue, and he would make sure to do a good job at being so. None of them of them knew what lay in the road ahead of them, but they would try their best to face it together.

 

Extra Scene:   
“So, now that we found that all you guys believed in me enough to make me real again…would you guys use your belief to make me a BAMF. I’m talking about giving me superpowers or something awesome. The possibilities are basically limitless. You could give me laser vision like Superman, super speed like The Flash…”

Before he could continue, Derek interrupted him.

“Stiles, you’re already a BAMF”, the werewolf stated with a smile. “You don’t need to change anything about you. You’re perfect just the way you are.”

“Aw, that’s a very nice thing to say, Sourwolf”, the teen responded. “But, laser vision would still be cool to have.”

“Give up Stiles, that’s not going to happen.”

Knowing Stiles, the pack knew that if they did give the teen powers, they would risk the loft…and not to mention the town most likely ending up in disaster.

“I’m very persistent, so I’ll take that as a maybe,” Stiles said with a mischievous grin.

**Author's Note:**

> Have any of you seen the movie, Sundays at Tiffany's? It’s a cute movie about a little girl and her imaginary friend, and what happens when she grows up and finds that her imaginary friend has returned. While writing this, I thought of this movie for sort of inspiration for a happyish ending to my random Imaginary!Stiles idea.
> 
> Random Fact: Another movie about an imaginary friend is Drop Dead Fred, in which the imaginary friend comes back and annoys the crap out of the protagonist. I haven’t seen it myself, but I heard it’s a good movie.


End file.
